.jpg) SAN JOSE, Calif. (KCBS) -- The record-setting Amgen Tour of California professional cycling road race will be expanded in 2009, announced race officials Wednesday.
The race will include stops in 16 host cities over the course of nine days from February 14-22. Already considered cycling’s most important and successful road race in the United States, the event’s fourth running will be expanded to cover more than 800 miles over the nine days.
Traveling almost the entire length of California, the race will begin in the state’s capital, Sacramento, and end in San Diego County (a new addition to the race) with a finish in Escondido on February 22. Also for the first time, the riders will cross the Golden Gate Bridge at the beginning of Stage 3.
The 16 official stage start and finish cities that have been selected for the 2009 race include eight new locales – Davis, Santa Cruz, Merced, Clovis, Visalia, Paso Robles, Rancho Bernardo and Escondido – that will join Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Sausalito, San Jose, Modesto, Solvang, Santa Clarita and Pasadena as host cities along the route.
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2009 Amgen Tour of California
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KCBS' Mike Colgan reports
